A typical aquatic facility such as a commercial swimming pool includes a number of components for managing and controlling the movement of and the quality of the water. For example, in addition to various filters and pumps, a conventional water chemistry controller controls the feeding of various chemicals into a pool or stream of water based on a number of factors, including the reading from one or more water chemistry sensors. The conventional water chemistry controller is typically microprocessor-based and includes a user interface customized to the aquatics application.
Water pumps, including variable rate water pumps, are also known in the art. A typical variable rate water pump used in an aquatic application includes a controller having a general-purpose user interface that is not tailored to the aquatics application or familiar to users of pumps in an aquatics setting. Installation of a conventional variable rate water pump into an aquatic application typically requires the operator to learn a control interface unique to the variable rate water pump.
A typical aquatic facility is designed with a minimum turnover rate, which indicates the amount of time for the entire body of water to pass through the water chemistry/filtration system. For example, a four-hour turnover rate means that the entire body of water should be processed six times each day. If the minimum turnover rate is not maintained, the quality of the water may be adversely impacted. From this perspective, in addition to the chemical/filtration subsystem, the main circulation pump may impact the water quality.
In conventional aquatic applications, the chemistry/filtration systems are separate from the water movement (i.e., pump) systems. Combining the management of these two systems by integrating the control and operation of the pump control system with the water chemistry system would provide many advantages. For example, allowing the water chemistry system to manage the flow rate of water in the aquatic facility may improve overall water quality and, in many instances, reduce energy usage.